As the first small seeds of hope begin to sprout, it is important to have a little perspective. In my opinion, the future will belong to be small and home-based business. As people have lost faith in big companies especially the financial institutions, they will be looking for viable alternatives. If they do not find them, then they will provide them themselves. Despite the well documented global problems, there are opportunities there for people to exploit. With a little hard work and passion, there is no reason why the average Joe on the street cannot become the next Bill Gates, Hilton, Trump, Branson or even Sir Alan Sugar.
In the United Kingdom, there are some organisations that have been set up by the government to help budding entrepreneurs get started with advice, mentorship and sometimes, financial support. Although I have spoken about them very briefly in previous factoids, I thought it was about time that I gave them the recognition that they deserve. So if you are sitting comfortably, then I will begin.
Business Link
The main organisation that budding businesspeople and entrepreneurs turn to is Business Link (www.businesslink.gov.uk). They have resources to help you turn your idea into a reality from how to register as self-employed to employing people to marketing your business. They work in partnership with relevant experts in government and other support organisations to give your business the best possible push into existence. When you start your business, Business Link, has an organiser with a list of tasks to help you. Do you need ideas of where to get funding? Business Link has that too. Even if you have started your business, Business Link can help you go even further – there is an area where you can fill in your tax return, there are interactive tools and quizzes which can help you to assess how you and your business are doing and determine what course of action you need to take. There are hundreds of guides and brochures that you can access and download and they cover every aspect of starting and running your own business enterprise. That sounds just dandy. How do I get access to them? Well firstly, you have to be in the United Kingdom but you can visit their website using the link that I gave you. You can also reach them via phone and face-to-face.
So where do they get all this funding? Well mostly from Regional Development Agencies and they are ably supported by local councils, government agencies and other business organisations. In Scotland, the equivalent is Business Gateway (www.bgateway.com) and in Northern Ireland, you will find Invest Northern Ireland (www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk).
Shell Live Wire
This is a vast online community for 18-30 year olds looking to start their own business. At the moment in the United Kingdom, they are running an Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2009 (it ends on the 11th September at midnight). This will encourage young people to look at what they have in terms of a business and work on it. The prize for winning is £10,000 for their business. For more information, go to http://www.shell-livewire.org/news/award2009 and take a look. It offers young people a forum for them to swap ideas, submit advice and generally explore the area of starting up your own business. It also provides support, opportunities to network, ask for expert advice and even have access a library of information to help them as well.
The Prince’s Trust
The Prince’s Trust helps young people get back into work or training by giving them support and providing them with the skills and confidence to do so. The support is not only practical and educational but also financial. By working with 18-30 year olds, they concentrate on lifeblood of an economy. The stats speak for themselves. Since its inception in 1976, the Prince’s Trust has helped almost 600,000 move into work and everyday they are supporting 100 or so. The Prince’s Trust has programmes to help different people where they are at in their lives. You will find some examples below:
- The Business Programme – this helps provides funding for those wanting to start their own business. It also offers mentorship, advice and support for this to make the best of this opportunity.
- Community Cash Awards – These grants are awarded to young people who want to set up a project that will benefit their community.
- These are also in addition to the grants and training for those who have been out of work for a long time.
Department for Business Innovations and Skills
The Department for Business Innovations and Skills (BIS) is in place to help business to achieve the best level of success in an increasingly competitive world. The BIS seeks to help the United Kingdom to compete on a global scale, boost productivity, and make Great Britain an attractive place to set up and do business. This will help to increase investment in the UK.
They not only focus on national and international businesses but on regional and local businesses because these are the foundations on which the economy can be built on. To learn more, click on www.berr.gov.uk.
Higher education - the hotbed of new business talent…if we would open our eyes
I do not know if there are many universities that do this, but I know that it was during my time at university studying for my MBA (Masters of Business Administration) that my eyes were truly opened about starting and running my own business. I had had the thought in my mind but that is where it stayed. I lacked the knowledge, the work ethic and the passion to make it a reality. I thought that I would have to scrabble around to find something. But I discovered that just doing what I am most passionate about and applying myself would form a strong basis for a business. The University I attended - Newcastle University business School has a dedicated section to help those who are interested in starting their business from advice from resident entrepreneurs to workshops to workspace facilities. This is should be the norm in schools, colleges and universities. Starting a business should not be considered as an afterthought when it comes to a career but as a viable alternative. If you want to know how this university is doing it, go to http://www.ncl.ac.uk/careers/makeitfly/startup/ and take a look…
So there you have it. These are just some of the organisations that help small businesses in the United Kingdom. In order to have the best chance of succeeding when setting up, it is necessary to use what these companies have to offer. ‘No man is an island’ is a mantra that a budding entrepreneur has to learn. A strong support is just as crucial as steady cashflow in the survival of a business.
Thank you for reading and God bless…
© Ngozi Nwabineli September 2009
